Allan Holdsworth

Guitarist Allan Holdsworth earned widespread regard as among the most accomplished players across jazz fusion, even as broader acclaim consistently eluded him. Born August 6, 1946, in Bradford, Yorkshire, he received his initial musical instruction from his pianist father. Holdsworth took up the guitar only upon turning 17, yet mastered it rapidly. Following stints in local bands and his acquisition of violin skills, he moved to London and came under the guidance of saxophonist Ray Warleigh. In 1972 he entered progressive rockers Tempest, contributing to their self-titled debut the following year, then entered Soft Machine in December 1973, shifting the ensemble decisively toward guitar-centered fusion. Around the same period U.S. drummer Tony Williams encountered the rising musician and recruited him to succeed John McLaughlin in the Lifetime band; Holdsworth departed Soft Machine abruptly in March 1975 and appeared on the Williams albums Believe It and Million Dollar Legs. That association proved short-lived, prompting the guitarist to align with French-English prog rockers Gong for the albums Gazeuse! (issued in the U.S. as Expresso) in 1976 and Expresso II in 1978, while also guesting on sessions by Jean-Luc Ponty, Bill Bruford, Gordon Beck, Jack Bruce, and UK.

Holdsworth initiated his solo career in the late 1970s, ultimately issuing nearly 20 albums, among them Road Games in 1983, Metal Fatigue in 1985, Hard Hat Area in 1994, and The Sixteen Men of Tain in 2000, with contributions from Paul Williams, Gary Husband, Chad Wackerman, Jimmy Johnson, Steve Hunt, and Alan Pasqua, among others. During the mid-1980s he became one of the earliest adopters of the SynthAxe, an instrument combining breath control with synthesizer, guitar, and saxophone attributes, and received Guitar Player magazine readers’ poll honors as Best Guitar Synthesist each year from 1989 through 1994. In the 1990s he developed a signature model with the Carvin company. Mid-decade he temporarily turned from original fusion material to record an album of jazz standards alongside longtime associate Gordon Beck. The Sixteen Men of Tain in 2000 introduced an all-acoustic rhythm section for the first time on a Holdsworth release. All Night Wrong followed in 2002 as his initial authorized live album, succeeded by Then! Live in Tokyo drawn from his 1990 touring ensemble and the 2005 career overview Against the Clock.

Subsequent years brought further joint projects: Conversation Piece, Pts. 1-2 with Beck, Jeff Clyne, and John Stevens on Belle Antique in 2008; Propensity alongside Danny Thompson and Stevens on Art of Time Recordings in 2009; and Blues for Tony with Alan Pasqua, Chad Wackerman, and Jimmy Haslip on MoonJune in 2009. While maintaining an active touring schedule, Holdsworth launched a PledgeMusic effort in 2015 to release the rarities set Tales from the Vault, which surfaced digitally the next year. Eidolon, a double-disc retrospective, and the twelve-disc box The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever!—a title the guitarist reportedly disliked—appeared on April 7, 2017, compiling his solo catalog plus additional material. Holdsworth died eight days later, on April 15, at age 70.